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February 2010

Thanks to all who showed up for the “Go Red” photo shoot Friday morning at Minute Maid Park. Hosted by the Astros and the American Heart Association, the event commemorated the “Go Red for Women” campaign, bringing awareness to about heart disease as the No. 1 health threat to women.

It was a fun hour, for a good cause, and we had a nice turnout. The group wore red, of course, and posed in the outfield seats. Enjoy the visuals:

Even the little ones got into the “Go Red” spirit:

While waiting for the photo shoot to begin, I noticed a bit of activity on the field. Here we have Hunter Pence running wind sprints in the outfield:

Kind of looks like Rocky Balboa here…

Other news and notes:

Houston College ClassicFor the 10th consecutive year, Minute Maid Park will host the Houston College Classic March 5-7. This year’s field includes three teams ranked nationally in Baseball America’s preseason poll including No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Rice and No. 11 TCU. Rounding out the field is the University of Houston, Texas Tech and Missouri.

Tickets currently are available and can be purchased at astros.com, at the Minute Maid Park Box Office, or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-877-9ASTROS.

AstrolineGuests for the next two weeks of Astroline shows are confirmed — Chris Sampson next Wednesday (Feb. 10) and Jimmy Wynn the following week (Feb. 17). The guest for Feb. 24 is still pending. Astroline will then move to Florida for the remainder of Spring Training.

The Houston show is broadcast live from Sherlock’s Baker Street Pub at 1952 West Gray St. and is open to the public. I’ll be tweeting live from Astroline for the next two weeks, so when you get a free moment, please send your questions to my twitter account.

Puma, Hooton entering the Hall

Lance Berkman and Burt Hooton will be inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on Monday in Waco.

I’ll be there, tweeting live and blogging when it’s over, so be sure to check early and often for up-to-the-minute play-by-play action. Puma loves it when I follow him around with a camera so this should be a ton of fun.

Astros Fanfest

Fanfest will again be held in conjunction with the exhibition games before Opening Day, April 2 and 3. A full schedule of activities will be released at a later date.

Friday is National Wear Red Day, and the Astros are staging a photo shoot at Minute Maid Park to show their support.

The American Heart Association and the Astros are seeking at least 1,500 Houstonians (representing the number of women who die daily in America from heart disease) to pose for a photo, showing solidarity in fighting this very preventable ailment.

The instructions are simple: show up to the right field gate at Minute Maid Park on Friday (Feb. 5) at 9:30 a.m. and you’ll be escorted into the ballpark. One requirement: you must wear red. The photo will be taken from the outfield seats.

The group that was given a 30-day negotiating window by Astros owner Drayton McLane to make an offer to purchase the club has not made an official offer prior to the Jan. 31 deadline, the Astros announced on Monday.

“As I’ve said all along, my family and I are not actively attempting to sell the Astros,” McLane said in a statement. “Over the years, I have been approached many times by groups interested in discussing the possible purchase of the team, and I’ve always been open to listening.

“For 18 years, the Astros have been and will continue to be a big part of me and my family. We consider owning the Astros a public trust and embrace the responsibility to the city of Houston.

“Moving forward, we remain as committed as ever to putting a competitive and winning team on the field and making a positive difference in our community. We are anxious to start spring training and begin the 2010 championship season on April 5 at home against the Giants.”

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